Highlander Invitational Results
Inland Empire Championships Results

Splitting squads for the final regular season meets of the year, the Eastern Washington University cross country teams competed at the Highlander Invitational and the Inland Empire Championships this morning (Oct. 16).
 
The women's team finished eighth out of 25 teams at the Highlander Invitational, which was hosted by UC Riverside in Riverside, Calif. Loren Linnenburger finished 51^st overall in the women's 6k with a time of 22:05.
 
"The women ran so well. We had a top-five spread of 28 seconds, that shows that everyone brought their A-game today," commented head coach Sam Read. "The team ran that race the hard way, too. They went out fast and fought the second half to hold on and stay strong, especially on a hot day. Loren's race up front was great. She worked well with Nicole Deherrera most the race and pulled away at the very end to lead the way for us. I was really impressed with Nicole's performance today. She just returned to running last week after taking two weeks off to nurse an injury. For her to come back and run like that takes some grit. Kaylin Sheley and Jenni Bissell also worked really well together and were rewarded with personal records."
 
The men were 14^th out of 26 teams and were led by Noah Hasselblad who finished 18^th overall with a time of 24:24.9, landing him on 10^th on Eastern's all-time list.
 
"UC Riverside has a really unique course that runs through their agricultural center and through rows of trees that made today's race really fun. It wasn't super spectator friendly, but it provided for a great environment and fast races," said Read. "Our men moved well through the whole race and were rewarded with a solid team finish that will set us up really well going into championship season. Without Justin Roosma in the lineup today, Noah Hasselblad took it on himself to be a low stick and really stepped up for us. He not only ran a huge personal best, but his time will put him in our top-10 all-time cross country times. The pack behind him, Carter Ledwith, Cameron Stuard, and Jesus Herrejon ran really well as a pack today and were key in today's finish. How they perform at conference will be a real game changer for us. We've been seeing Jesus really performing well in workouts these last two weeks and for him to make the jump up into that pack today in a race is just a great reward for all his hard work."
 
The Inland Empire Championships were hosted by Lewis-Clark State College at the Lewiston Orchards in Lewiston, Idaho. The women finished 10^th out of 14 teams, led by Madilynn Carr who finished 44^th with a time of 18:57.
 
"It was a great day for a cross country race. I was pleased with how everyone ran. Both the men's and women's races today are going to make it tough for Coach Read to figure out the final squad for the Big Sky Championships," said head coach women's track and field coach Marcia Mecklenberg.
 
For the men's 8k, the Eagles did have enough participants to score as a team, but were led by Alec Kness who crossed the finish line in 67^th place with a time of 26:39. The Idaho women and Gonzaga men took home the team titles.
 
"With our squads split this weekend, it changed up our athletes' typical racing strategy. They gauge a lot off of each other, and the athletes that raced in Idaho handled it very well. The last time we raced here was during the pandemic, and it was nice to come back and race against more teams to see where we stack up. Both our squads went out smart, maintained focus, and embraced the grind," said distance coach Chris Jessup. "Our women's team was primarily made up of freshman, and I was very impressed with their tenacity. Madilynn Carr couldn't stop smiling after her race, and as a coach, it doesn't get much better than that. For the men, we had a very close pack between Alec Kness, Jacob Stirpe, and Danny Maxwell. They all went out conservatively, didn't let the hype get to them, and their maturity helped them in the last 2,000 meters of the race.
 
The Eagles are back in action on Friday, Oct. 29, at the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted by Portland State in Portland, Ore.
 
 
Highlander Invitational: Women's 6k Results
51. Loren Linnenburger (22:05.8)
63. Nicole Deherrera (22:18.8)
72. Jasmin Muneton (22:26.5)
73. Jenni Bissell (22:32.0)
75. Kaylin Sheley (22:33.8)
93. Megan Pitzman (22:48.6)
 
Highlander Invitational: Men's 8k Results
18. Noah Hasselblad (24:24.9)
64. Carter Ledwith (25:12.7)
83. Cameron Stuard (25:32.4)
91. Jesus Herrejon (25:34.7)
152. Austin Steed (26:21.8)
175. Jamie Christner (26:43.0)
 
Inland Empire Championships: Women's 5k Results
44. Madilynn Carr (18:57)
64. Amanda Nygard (19:27)
69. Erika Leinweber (19:41)
75. Lindsay Butler (19:54)
77. Anna Harrison (19:56)
 
Inland Empire Championships: Men's 8k Results
67. Alec Kness (26:39)
79. Danny Maxwell (26:55)
80. Jacob Stirpe (26:55)
119. Lucas Robert (28:28)
 
More Comments from Head Coach Sam Read:
 
"I almost think the biggest challenge for us today was yesterday's travel day. It was a long day, and we need to find a way to take care of ourselves a bit better before race day. This trip gave us that travel experience that will be similar for conference and regionals, which will be very valuable."